Detroit bankruptcy: Is it a warning sign for America?

How Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has dealt with financial crises in the state – and how he will handle the Detroit bankruptcy – could hold lessons for the rest of the US.

Gov. Rick Snyder (R) of Michigan could be forgiven for sounding like a bit of a cheerleader when discussing Detroit's bankruptcy Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I'm very bullish about the growth opportunities of Detroit," he said.

On one hand, finding the silver lining of perhaps the worst fiscal disaster in the history of America's cities is his job – it's hard to imagine Michigan truly thriving so long as its largest city is an economic millstone. Yet, on a much more personal level, it seems like Governor Snyder sincerely believes he was built for this.


READ MORE:  http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0721/Detroit-bankruptcy-Is-it-a-warning-sign-for-America-video

Australia plans to scrap carbon tax

Key greenhouse gas emitter to replace fixed price on emissions with floating rate a year earlier than planned.

 

Australia will scrap its carbon tax and bring forward an emissions trading scheme a year earlier than planned, Treasurer Chris Bowen said, a policy shift certain to be a focal point in the forthcoming election.

Under current plans, Australia would move from the current fixed price on carbon - essentially a tax assessed on larger companies entitling them to produce carbon emissions - to a floating price in July 2015.

Bowen on Sunday confirmed media reports that the fixed $21.9 per tonne carbon tax would be dumped in favour of a floating price of between $5.5 and $9.1 per tonne from July 1, 2014, to ease cost of living pressure for families and help support the non-mining sectors of the economy.

Australia is among the world's worst per capita polluters due to its reliance on coal-fired power and mining exports and introduced a carbon tax in 2012, charging big polluters for their emissions.

READ MORE:  http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/07/201371454545395460.html

Do Hurricanes or Obama Policies Cause Lower Production in the Gulf?

The Institute for Energy Research compared the impacts of hurricane activity and the Obama Administration’s oil policies on production in the offshore Gulf of Mexico to see which has the larger and more lasting impact. Although the shorter-term impacts of both are similar in size, Obama’s policies seem to have a more lasting effect. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico will not reach its peak 2010 production level at least through 2014, the farthest year out in the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook.

The graph below shows annual historical crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico from 1994 through 2012, and projected crude oil production for the Gulf of Mexico in 2013 and 2014 based on EIA’s July 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook. Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico took a downturn in 2005 due to hurricanes Katrina and Rita and then again in 2008 due to hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Another downturn occurred in 2011 because of the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that was instituted by the Obama Administration after the oil spill occurred there in April 2010 due to the Macondo accident, the Obama Administration’s subsequent moratorium on offshore drilling, and the Administration’s de facto moratorium (the “permitorium”) that continued once the original moratorium on offshore drilling was lifted. Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has still not returned to pre-moratorium levels and the EIA is projecting that it will not return to pre-moratorium levels through 2014.

READ MORE:  http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2013/07/12/are-hurricanes-or-obamas-oil-policies-causing-lower-production-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/

Detroit not alone under mountain of long-term debt

WASHINGTON — Detroit may be alone among the nation’s biggest cities in terms of filing for bankruptcy, but it is far from the only city being crushed by a roiling mountain of long-term debt.

At the heart of Detroit’s problem is a growing unfunded debt on benefits owed to current and future retirees — some $3.5 billion, according to its emergency manager, Kevyn Orr — which mirrors a circumstance being seen across the U.S.

From Baltimore to Los Angeles, and many points in between, municipalities are increasingly confronted with how to pay for these massive promises. The Pew Center for the States, in Washington, estimated states’ public pension plans across the U.S. were underfunded by a whopping $1.4 trillion in 2010.

READ MORE:  http://www.freep.com/article/20130721/NEWS06/307210073/

Exclusive: Signs of declining economic security

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream.

Survey data exclusive to The Associated Press points to an increasingly globalized U.S. economy, the widening gap between rich and poor and loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs as reasons for the trend.

The findings come as President Barack Obama tries to renew his administration's emphasis on the economy, saying in recent speeches that his highest priority is to "rebuild ladders of opportunity" and reverse income inequality.

READ MORE: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/exclusive-4-5-us-face-near-poverty-no-work-0

The state of the union is not strong, Americans say

A new survey finds that 42 percent of Americans say capitalism isn't working well, and they complain about the encouragement of greed, the lack of equal opportunity and the creation of poverty and lasting inequality.

[OPINION: No, Capitalism Is Not Evil]

The survey illustrates the country's deep polarization. In a positive finding for Democrats who favor a strong government role in society, most Americans say government should do more to reduce inequality. But Republicans who want to limit government will find encouragement in that most Americans don't have confidence in government's ability to function effectively.

READ MORE : http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/Ken-Walshs-Washington/2013/07/18/the-state-of-the-union-is-not-strong-americans-say

Economic Fairness

63% View U.S. Economy As Unfair to the Middle Class

 

More voters than ever view the U.S. economy as unfair, particularly when it comes to middle-class Americans.

Just 38% of Likely U.S. Voters now consider the U.S. economy at least somewhat fair, and that includes only four percent (4%) who say it’s Very Fair, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. That overall figure is down seven points from 45% a month ago. Fifty-six percent (56%) view the economy as unfair, with 19% who think it is Not At All Fair. (To see survey question wording,click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

READ MORE:  http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/economic_fairness